Sick Puppies

Sick Puppies is an alternative rock band formed in 1997 in Sydney, Australia. The band currently consists of vocalist Shimon Moore, bassist Emma Anzai and drummer Mark Goodwin.

When the Australian band decided to break through in the U.S., founding members, vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Shimon Moore and his high school classmate, bassist Emma Anzai, simply picked up and moved lock, stock and guitar amps to L.A… As their drummer Chris Mileski was unable to leave Australia, the band advertised for a drummer on Craig’s List, and were soon joined by Orange County native Mark Goodwin.

After getting signed and putting out their debut, the trio made their own video independently to accompanying the first single, “All the Same,” shot in a Sydney shopping mall in which fellow Aussie Juan Mann held up a hand-written placard offering passersby “Free Hugs.” The clip attracted over 64 million views on YouTube alone, and spawned a world-wide phenomenon.
Three years later, Sick Puppies are back with a new album and producing team from Dressed Up As Life, Rock Mafia’s Antonina Armato and Tim James. Together they’ve created a sound that reflects the past four whirlwind years spent in the rock and roll fast lane, on the grueling tour grind, honing their chops until they were a finely tuned powerhouse ready to let loose with the anger, frustration and triumphs built up from all that road work.

With a name like Sick Puppies, you wouldn't think hugs would play a major role in the gutsy indie crew's rise to fame, but they do, along with malls and YouTube. When they met in 1997, singer/lead guitarist Shimon Moore and bassist Emma Anzai were both fans of Silverchair and the Living End plus many of the other angst rock/punk rock bands from their native Australia. Soon Chris Mileski joined on drums and a series of live gigs led to some local recognition and the 1999 EP Dog's Breakfast. Two years later, their song "Nothing Really Matters" won the Unearthed competition, which Australia's Triple J radio network held to find homegrown and undiscovered talent.

Tours across the country followed and an unreleased and aggressive cover version of Destiny's Child's "Say My Name" was soon burning up P2P networks, but when the bandmembers set their sights on America they took a break to plan. They also took days jobs. Moore's was at an outdoor shopping mall, where he would soon meet performance artist Juan Mann, who would carry a "Free Hugs" sign around the mall and oblige anyone who took him up on it. Moore filmed the positive and negative reactions and eventually compiled them, adding the Sick Puppies song "All the Same" as the musical bed. He sent it as video sympathy card when he learned Mann had just lost his grandmother. Mann was touched and posted it to YouTube; by December 2006 the heartwarming video had ten million views.

Meanwhile, the band had landed in America — with Mileski replaced by new drummer Mark Goodwin — and worked a deal with the indie label Roadshow, which released a self-titled EP by the band at the end of 2006. Given those ten million video views, it didn't take long for the majors to come calling. Virgin wooed them and released the album Dressed Up as Life in April of 2007, just as the views had reached the 12.5 million mark. Not wanting to let things cool off, the band got back into the studio the following year to being working on a new record. Their third album, Tri-Polar, was released in 2009, and managed to reach number 31 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Sick Puppies supported Tri-Polar with a tour and, in April of 2010, they released the EP Live & Unplugged, which contained acoustic versions of songs from the album. Another acoustic EP, this one called Polar Opposite and also containing acoustic versions of songs from Tri-Polar, appeared a year later.

Sick Puppies began work on their fourth album in 2012, collaborating with the production team Rock Mafia. The finished product, Connect, was released in July 2013.

The band Sick Puppies met in 1997 and started playing in Malls and putting their music out on YouTube
Singer/lead guitarist Shimon Moore and bassist Emma Anzai were both fans of Silverchair and the Living End plus many of the other angst rock/punk rock bands from their native Australia
Soon Chris Mileski joined on drums and a series of live gigs led to some local recognition and the 1999 EP Dog's Breakfast
Two years later, their song "Nothing Really Matters" won the Unearthed competition, which Australia's Triple J radio network held to find homegrown and undiscovered talent.
Tours across the country followed and an unreleased and aggressive cover version of Destiny's Child's "Say My Name" was soon burning up P2P networks, but when the bandmembers set their sights on America they took a break to plan.
They also took days jobs. Moore's was at an outdoor shopping mall, where he would soon meet performance artist Juan Mann, who would carry a "Free Hugs" sign around the mall and oblige anyone who took him up on it.
Meanwhile, the band had landed in America -- with Mileski replaced by new drummer Mark Goodwin -- and worked a deal with the indie label Roadshow, which released a self-titled EP by the band at the end of 2006.

Songs like the storming first single, “You’re Going Down,” which is being used as the theme song for the WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view broadcast, and “Street Fighter War,” which was used as part of the national marketing campaign for the popular video game Street Fighter IV

Adult Hits

Maybe

Album:

Tri-Polar
(2010)

Lyrics:

Maybe I'm a dreamer
Maybe I'm misunderstood
Maybe you're not seeing the side of me you should
Maybe I'm crazy
(Maybe I'm crazy)
Maybe I'm the only one
(Maybe I'm the only one)
Maybe I'm just out of touch
Maybe I've just had enough

Maybe it's time to change
And leave it all behind
I've never been one to walk alone
I've always been scared to try
So why does it feel so wrong
To reach for something more
To wanna live a better life
What am I waiting for?
'Cause nothing stays the same
Maybe it's time to change

Maybe it's hopeless
(Maybe it's hopeless)
Maybe I should just give up
(Maybe I should just give up)
What if I can't trust myself?
What if I just need some help?

Maybe it's time to change
And leave it all behind
I've never been one to walk alone
I've always been scared to try
So why does it feel so wrong
To reach for something more
To wanna live a better life
What am I waiting for?
'Cause nothing stays the same
Maybe it's time to change

And maybe it's time to change
And leave it all behind
I've never been one to walk alone
I've always been scared to try

And maybe it's time to change
And leave it all behind
I've never been one to walk alone
I've always been scared to try
So why does it feel so wrong
To reach for something more
To wanna live a better life
What am I waiting for?
'Cause nothing stays the same
Maybe it's time to change
'Cause nothing stays the same
Maybe it's time to change

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Alternative

Odd One

Album:

Tri-Polar
(2010)

Lyrics:

Odd one, you're never alone
I'm here and I will reflect you
Both of us basically unattached
To anything or anyone unless we're pretending
You live your life in your head
Some call it imagination
I'd rather focus instead on anything except
What I'm feeling
What I'm feeling
Odd one...

Hey, it's gonna be okay
Hey, we're gonna laugh at this one day

Odd one, I wish I was you
You're never concerned with acceptance
We are all desperately seeking out, a
And fitting with anyone
Who will accept us
But not you, odd one

Album:

Tri-Polar
(2011)

Lyrics:

You all hate your children
They're too fat to feed
You're on medication
Taking pills to sleep
I think I'm doing just fine
Compared to what you've been doing
I won't get vaccinated
Insurance costs too much
You think you're so persuasive
But I'm not giving up
Saving my life
It's not what you're doing

I, I won't justify
The way I live my life
'Cause I'm the one livin' it
Feelin' it, tastin' it
And you're just wasting your time
Trying to throw me a line
When you're the one drowning
I like where I'm at on my back
Floating down in my own riptide
The water is fine

I like to step on cracks
I go against the odds
You think my world is flat
Do I turn you on?
Maybe, yeah I'm wrong
But I like where I'm going
I leave when others stay
I never re-decide
I don't mind if you wait
But I don't waste my time
Crazy is just fine
'Cause I like where I'm going

I, I won't justify
The way I live my life
'Cause I'm the one livin' it
Feelin' it, tastin' it
And you're just wasting your time
Trying to throw me a line
When you're the one drowning
I like where I'm at on my back
Floating down in my own riptide
The water is fine

I remember when it used to be easy
I remember when it wasn't so hard
I remember when it used to be easy
I remember when, I remember when

I, I didn't have to justify
The way I live my life
'Cause I'm the one livin' it
Feelin' it, tastin' it
And you're just wasting your time
Trying to throw me a line
When you're the one drowning
I like where I'm at on my back
Floating down in my own riptide
The water is fine

I remember when it used to be easy
I remember when it wasn't so hard
I remember when it used to be easy
I remember when, I remember when